Author's Note:

It's been a while, but after the recent update to my favorite TD Zombie Apocalypse story, Undead Drama (which, I cannot recommend more to y'all; it's truly the best TD Zombie Apocalypse story out there), I got the motivation to dive back into this story once again. But before we get into the story, congrats are in order for some of y'all who easily caught the 6Teen reference in the last chapter. I didn't make it too well hidden, so I was certainly expecting people that are familiar with the show to catch it right off the bat.

And now, it's time to answer some reviews.

Kyle Eaton: Zeke certainly does like to go to parties, although I'm not sure he'd be on the guest list in this instance.

Guest: There might be a scene where he fully admits it to Zoey, but it won't be just quite yet. However...well, you'll see.

WoolleyLamb: Glad you're liking it so far! I did a similar story before this one, Fang, which is a loose tribute to Jaws, but in a Total Drama way. You should check it out if you're interested. I hope I do the characters justice in this story, especially the ones that you like the most. Scott's certainly going to have a somewhat big role to play, though we won't get to meet him just quite yet. As for character deaths, there's going to be quite a bit of those, though which ones and the timing of those deaths may come as a surprise. But, we still got a little bit more build up until we get to all that carnage.

I think that's about it. As a reminder, if you want to make some predictions about which characters will survive, there's a poll up on my profile that you can vote on. So far, the results have been fascinating.

We now return to...Zeke.

Zoey hummed as she stirred the pot of soup simmering on the stove. Her mother was working late that night, so she was on her own for dinner. Which suited her fine. It happened often enough at her old home; she knew how to take care of herself.

She grabbed a spoon and sipped her concoction, smacking her lips slightly. Needs more herbs. She grabbed a small bottle of basil and shook a small amount into the soup.

After spending the day with Mike and his friends, she was feeling more at ease with her new home. At least she had made some new friends, and she hadn't even been on the island for a full week yet.

Of course, she had apparently also made some enemies. By hanging out with Mike and his friends, she had earned the ire of Jo and her crew. Not that she cared about them; they were bullies. And it didn't help that Lightning was clearly a jock. She hated jocks.

But Mike…Mike was a sweetheart. She could tell from the moment she met him. He was kind and caring and just the nicest—

Zoey blinked, shaking her head slightly. Was she really daydreaming about a boy she had only just met? She was starting to become like the popular girls at her old school, the ones that were always blabbing about which boy they liked.

She tasted the soup again and, finding it to be satisfactory, poured a small amount into a bowl. As she turned away from the stove, she noticed the light in the shed out back was on.

Odd, she thought, No one's been out there since we moved in. She set the bowl down on the counter, slipped her shoes on, and headed out the backdoor.

The shed door was swinging gently in the breeze. That was the second odd thing; the door was supposed to be locked. Was someone in there?

Zoey cracked the door open. "Hello?" she asked. "Is someone in here?"

Silence greeted her within the empty shed. Aside from the scattered tools hanging on the walls, there was nothing there.

Zoey sighed. It's nothing, she thought, stepping in to switch off the light. She pulled the chain and the light clicked off. She turned around to leave only to stare directly into the face of death.

It was a man—or what she hoped was a man. He was in a dark green hoodie, his skin hanging off in chunks. His face was masked with hunger and malice in his bloodshot eyes. It roared at her the moment her eyes laid upon it, swiping at her with long, yellowed fingernails.

Zoey screamed in terror, backpedaling as the talons nicked her face. She instantly felt something wet trickle down her cheek as the thing advanced, leaping for her throat.

She grabbed the first thing she could find—a shovel—and swung it at the thing. It knocked it back into the side of the shed wall, where it was up again in seconds, screeching.

Zoey didn't wait around. With another scream, she took off for the house, trying to outrun the thing. If she could make it inside, she could call for help—lock this maniac out—

The thing tackled her to the ground. Zoey screamed again. "Help!" She tried to struggle out of the thing's grip, but all she managed to do was get flipped onto her back. The thing went for her throat then, slobber dribbling down his face and onto hers. Zoey was barely able to hold him back, but he was strong. And she was quickly losing her grip against his flailing hands clawing at her neck.

"Oy! Beastie!" A voice shouted. Seconds later, a rope lassoed around the attacker's torso, yanking him off her. Zoey scrambled back in fear, peering through the dying light of day to see her rescuer.

"Mike?" she asked in shock.

The boy tipped his fedora to her as he raised the struggling thing into a tree. "Name's Manitoba Smith, little lady," he introduced himself in his Australian accent.

Zoey blinked. "I didn't know Mike had a brother."

Manitoba smiled. "Right. That's because—"

The thing broke free, throwing off the lasso and starting to run. "Oh no you don't, you wily dingo!" Manitoba swung his lasso again, managing to wrap the rope around the thing's leg. It screeched and clawed at the dirt as Manitoba tried to pull him back. "You're not getting away that easily!" he called to it.

The thing screeched, twisting around and biting down through the rope, cutting itself free. It bounded quickly away, vanishing over the next fence.

"Well, that's one crazy kookaburra," Manitoba commented before helping Zoey to her feet. "You all right, sheila?"

"I—think so," Zoey breathed, still trying to calm herself down from what she had just gone through.

"Might want to call the police, little lady," Manitoba advised. "They'll want to know about what happened."

Zoey weakly nodded. "What about you?"

Manitoba chuckled. "Me and them don't usually get along. I'll just pop over next door and leave you to it." Before Zoey could stop him, he flipped over the fence and out of sight.

"Can you describe the attacker?" the officer asked, writing in his notepad.

Zoey, wrapped in a blanket, took a shuddering breath. "Gray skin. Ratty clothes. Claw like fingernails. He was like an animal."

The officer wrote this information down. "Any idea where he went?"

Zoey shook her head weakly. "No. It…all happened so fast."

"Do you know what scared him away?"

Zoey hesitated. "A boy from next door."

The officer looked up from his notepad. "Mike?"

"No, his brother. Manitoba."

"Brother?"

"That's right."

The officer shook his head. "Miss, I hate to tell you this…but there's only one boy living next door."

Zoey blinked in surprise. "One boy?"

"Mhm. Only been one boy for as long as I can remember. If he's up to his old tricks again…" The officer sighed. "I'll have to get a statement from him."

"From Mike? Or Manitoba?"

The officer simply shook his head and began to leave. "Wait!" Zoey called, standing up. "What if the attacker decides to come back?"

"We'll leave behind a squad car to keep an eye on things," the officer answered, continuing on his way. "But don't worry: he's probably long gone from here by now. We'll catch him eventually."

Zoey didn't feel any sense of reassurance. And she was still trying to figure out what the officer meant about Mike. What did he mean about there only being one boy next door. What did that make Manitoba? Was that just Mike? And, if so, why did he call himself Manitoba?

"Zoey?"

Zoey let out a yelp at Cameron's voice, scrambling back in fear. Cameron, in response, also yelled in fright, backing up and nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Oh! Cam—sorry," Zoey apologized, clutching her chest. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Cameron said quickly. "I just came over to see what was going on." He pointed across the street. "I live across the street. What happened?"

Zoey wearily explained to him what had happened with the creepy man that had attacked her, and about Manitoba's appearance. When she reached that part, Cameron blurted out, "Mike must have heard you were in trouble and decided to help!"

"No, it was Manitoba," Zoey insisted. "What's going on with that."

Cameron gulped. "I—I shouldn't say anything. Mike told me not to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"About his multiple personalities," he blurted. He then facepalmed.

"Multiple personalities?"

Cameron looked around before lowering his voice. "Okay, look—Mike wouldn't want me telling you this, but he has multiple different personalities. He's had them all his life. Manitoba Smith is just one of those personalities."

"So—that was—"

"That was really Mike that saved you. He must have heard your screams and put on the hat to help you."

"What does the hat have to do with anything?"

"Mike's personalities can be triggered in different ways. Manitoba's involves putting a hat on, Vito comes out when—" Cameron stopped himself with a groan. "Why am I telling you this? Mike should be the one telling you this."

"Why didn't he, though?"

"Because he's scared," Cameron explained. "The last girl he dated left the island completely when she found out about his condition. He was afraid that you'd do the same." He gripped her hand. "Zoey, please don't tell him I blabbed. He's supposed to be the one to tell you. And please—don't let him know you know yet. It'll destroy him."

Zoey smiled warmly. "Sure, Cam. I'll let him tell me. And thanks for telling me about him so I know what's going on."

Cameron turned red. "Oh. Thanks."

The screeching of tires in the distance brought Zoey's attention to the road. "That's probably my mom," she said. "You'd better go."

"Right. I'll see you later, Zoey." Cameron hurried off back across the street, leaving Zoey alone with her thoughts once more.

She was still shaken up from the night's events, so much so that she didn't see the dark, windowless van parked off to the side of the road.

The Man in the Fedora watched the red headed girl, smoking a cigar. After a minute, he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to report on the progress of Stage 2 of Project Homeschool," he announced.

"Good news, I hope?" the Chairman asked.

"In a sense. However, the subject was unable to kill the victim. However, her savior may bear new fruits for future experiments."

"How long until Stage 3 commences?"

"2 days, Mr. Chairman."

"You have secured a suitable test site and subjects?"

"Yes sir." The Man in the Fedora took a long drawl from his cigar. "It should provide ample testing for Project Homeschool."

"Good. And remember this: none of the subjects in this experiment can be allowed to leave before the test concludes."

"Don't worry, Mr. Chairman. I've seen to it that Project Homeschool will have every chance to kill this group."

"Make sure of it. Should the authorities become aware of what's going on, the experiment could be compromised."

"Rest assured, Mr. Chairman, that every precaution has been made. My men are ready to contain the experiment—by any means necessary."

"Pray that you are right." The line went dead. The Man in the Fedora slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked back out the driver window of the van. The girl's mother had just arrived and was holding her daughter tightly.

"Enjoy the moment as much as you can, girl," the man said coldly. "For these are your final days."

Alive: Amy, Anne Maria, B, Beardo, Brick, Cameron, Dakota, Dave, Dawn, Ella, Ezekiel, Jasmine, Jo, Lightning, Max, Mike, Rodney, Sam, Samey, Scarlett, Scott, Shawn, Sky, Sugar, Topher, Zoey

Dead: No one (for now)

And boom, Zeke's made his first attack on a main character. Lucky that Mike was there to save Zoey from him, right?

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how many appearances Mike's different personalities will have. The answer is: not many. For me, his different personalities are difficult to write; even Manitoba, my favorite one, is a bit challenging for me. So, Mike's personalities will not appear as often. This, of course, can be explained by the fact that he has a handle on being able to control all of them at this point.

Oh, and no, Mal won't be making an appearance here. Sorry!

We got one or two more chapters left for buildup, so hang in there! We're almost up to the bloody massacre that you've all been waiting for!

But anyway, that's all from me. Make sure you hit that favorite/follow button to stay informed on future updates, and don't forget to drop a review to let me know how I'm doing. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, reminding you to stay faster than the slowest person to survive a horror movie. Ciao!